Lost and Found
by SsKnight
Summary: (Squall x Seifer) About four years after the incident with Ultimecia, Squall feels as if he has been used by everyone, including his fiance', Rinoa. With a new assignment as commander, he finds himself in a situation he never thought he'd be in.
1. Default Chapter

Note from the author: i dont own any FF8 characters or anything related to FF. I hope you all like my first Fanfic..! Please R&R!!!

**- L o s t . and . F o u n d -**  
**Chapter One** – Wasted Day

The shades were pulled shut, but the sunlight found it's way through every tiny opening the curtains had not covered. The master bedroom had tiny sparkles of light scattered across the dimness of the room. The room seemed as if were early morning.

It was far from morning though. The day was late and the sun was actually ready to leave the sky.

Squall Leonhart lifted his head lazily from his pillow to look at the digital clock across the room.

4:25 PM

The bright red numbers had him squint for a moment, and then he dropped his head back to his pillow. Pulling the satin sheets tighter around himself he laid, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He had been in bed since the night before. He didn't feel like getting up, and he was positive that none of the caretakers would notice his absence in the household. Rinoa had woken up early, and had left the house to run her daily errands without him, leaving the house free of anyone who would disrupt his rest. He was awake now, thinking about the night before, and how it had made their relationship a little worse than it already was.

The night before was an extravagant dinner that they had hosted for a local fundraising organization. Squall had attended; dressed in his casual navy blue business suit, arm in arm with his brand new fiancé. This party seemed a bit different than others she had hosted. He had stood clear of all the arguments and discussion she would get into with the guests. Surprisingly at this party, Rinoa did not ask the usual favor of him to speak in front of the bloodthirsty press about their engagement. He had been forced to do so before, but he had figured this time Rinoa knew not to make thesame mistake again.

Time and time again, he would be asked to make speeches, take interviews, or just talk to the press openly. Not being a big people person, he would continuously stumble over his words, lose his train of thought during an interview, or just be plain rude to the press. He hated public speaking. Rinoa knew it; she had known it ever since he had become commander of SeeD in the beginning, but she always continued to find ways to talk him into it. Last night, however, she didn't dare ask him to. They had been at each other's throats for the past few days, and they had both tried their very best not to get angry at each other while they had company.

'_How I would love to tell the media about this… Rinoa, the ….'_

Everything had been falling apart…and Squall was first in line to witness it.

_'Forget the press, telling everyone countless lies… I have a backstage pass to what might become the next ……'_

The party had annoyed him to an extent where he couldn't bare to be a part of it anymore. After quite a few glasses of wine, and one very long conversation with a group of random intellectuals, Squall had retreated to the master bedroom of their mansion, hoping to escape the party that demanded so much attention. After changing into his sleepwear, he had settled himself into bed early, not too long before Rinoa had charged in, hoping for him to re-join the party.

'_Yeah… right…'_

Giving her a slight wave of the hand that insisted her to host the party for the rest of the night on her own, she slammed the door as he sunk beneath the satin sheets. He was tired, and did not want to be bothered. There had been better parties, and he knew there would be more in the future, so he chose to sit out just this once. Wanting to go to sleep, he hugged the sheets tightly and closed his eyes, hoping the noise and chatter downstairs would soon die down.

It had been one of the longest nights of his life, and he couldn't understand why. It could have been the continuous thoughts racing through his head, or the maybe the loud noise from downstairs. He figured the wine would have made him drowsy, but it came to no avail.

Laying in bed, not sleeping… Squall thought, until the party had finally ended.

Rinoa had come upstairs and left the cleaning to the three caretakers she had hired. Squall had once jokingly called them Rinoa's slaves, but then kept quiet once she had started an argument about it. He never really made a comment such as that to her ever again.

She took a shower and later slid into bed, not saying a word to him. This was a typical night; he didn't expect anything more from her. He wanted it to either stay this way, or get better. He didn't hope for anything worse. She quickly fell asleep next to him, probably more intoxicated than he was. Squall continued to stay awake with endless thoughts running through his head.

After about three hours, he fell asleep.

The next morning he had refused to get up. Rinoa had tried waking him up politely, "Squall, I'm going to go pick a few things up from dad's, then I'm going to get a few things for the house… do you want to come along?" It was utterly phony of her to try talking nice to him, but Squall was a little but pleased that she made the effort. He didn't care though. After letting out a muffled groan from just hearing the sound of her voice, she understood, promptly got dressed and left for the day without even a goodbye.

'Good riddance for today…' he had thought. 

Presently, it had been almost ten hours since then, and Squall had not attempted to get up out of bed. It was almost evening, and he lay, since the day before, in bed.

'_Another day fallen astray… the light of day has been wasted away.'_

The ceiling suddenly became uninteresting, and he turned his attention back to the clock. It was almost five, so he decided to pull himself out of bed to eat something. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes lethargically and pulled over the sheets. Stepping onto the lush carpet, he slowly made his way to the bathroom counter on the other side of the room. The chilled marble tile didn't seem to bother him; he gently rested his elbows on the bathroom counter and stared into the mirror.

'_What am I doing….?'_

Looking into tired, grey eyes, he winced at the sharp pain that ran across the back of his neck from sleeping too long. He carelessly massaged the area for a moment, and then continued staring in the mirror.

'……_I look… dead...'_

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, clearing his vision only to see himself staring back. His facial features which were usually very smooth and delicate, looked tired and worn. Dark circles were forming underneath his grey eyes. There was no color to his skin, and his hair fell limp next to his jaw. With eyes half open, he stared at himself; this person.

He stared at this stranger.

'_I don't…'_

Quickly turning on the sink, he washed his face with ice-cold water, hoping it would wake him up from his dream-like state. He refrained from looking in the mirror once more in hope that he wouldn't scare himself again. Sliding on a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt, he sat back on the bed to put on his boots. Lacing them tightly, he scanned the room in a daze.

'_I need to get out of here for a little while… I wonder what is going on in town?"_

Realizing what he was forgetting, he grabbed his signature leather jacket and casually threw it over his arm. Opening the door, he looked back only once, and then left the room in darkness, as well as silence.

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5:10PM

The house had been quiet until the sound of heavy combat boots down the wood stairs had filled the hall with clamor. Squall passed the dining room where one of the three house caretakers was preparing the dinner table for six individuals in the dining room. Quickly walking to the kitchen to find his keys, he scowled at the thought of another dinner party.

_'Hyne, more people to sweet-talk to… more people to give this house the attention it doesn't need...'_

In the kitchen, he grabbed his set of keys from the countertop where he had left them yesterday, and headed for the main hall to leave.

The house was enormous compared to any other living space in Deling. Though, the city itself had grown enormously over the past few years. The Leonhart mansion was a part of the new development area in the city, and it was also the biggest, most expensive house in the city entirely. Squall and Rinoa had moved to Deling so Rinoa could be closer to her father. The entire purpose of living in the mainstream city was so she could get better acquainted with her father, whom she hadn't gotten along with in years.

Squall raced through the main hall on his heels and stopped at the door. Swinging it open to make his leave, he had in front of him a very startled face.

Rinoa had her keys in hand in position to unlock the padlock. Staring into her fiancé's tired eyes, she stood in confusion. "Um… hey..."

_'Get out of my way'_

"Hey," Squall forced out monotonously. Rinoa continued to stand in his way, as if she thought he was at the door to greet her. He stood with an uninterested look about him, holding the edge of the door so tightly that his knuckles were white.

'_Get… out… of… my…way. Do I need to spell it out for you?'_

Rinoa casually threw her keys back into her purse and walked inside so that he would have to be forced back into the house and wait for her to pass before he could leave. Frustrated, Squall backed up to let her through, and then took three quick steps towards the door to make his escape. Freedom drew near.

That was… until a hand grasped his right arm somewhat forcefully.

"Hey, where are you going?" She interrogated. "We are having a press meeting in an hour, and I think you should start to get ready." Letting out a faint, fake laugh, her voice continued to annoy Squall. "What would they think if we brought them in, and we weren't even ready?" she said over exaggeratedly, apparently forcing a smile.

"Would you let go of me please?" Squall asked, strained. Rinoa faintly frowned, then repeated her own words as if he hadn't heard her the first time she asked.

"Where are you going?"

''_Where are you going… where are you going… where are you going?' Rinoa the broken record…is it my turn to play broken record too? I guess so…'_

"Would you let _go_ of me please?" he repeated as he tugged his arm pensively. Rinoa's frown grew deeper, and her grip on his arm loosened, but not enough for him to suddenly pull free from her grasp. He, too, was slowly starting to glower back at her; his brow tilting ever so slightly inward, as his eyes started to narrow. "Would you?" he asked again, trying to stay calm.

"Where are you going?" She asked for the third time, letting her voice resound in the hall. Then they stood in silence for a moment, until Squall had forcefully pulled his arm away from her, and started down the front steps.

"I'm going out," he said without looking back at her as he paced down the courtyard walkway to the front security gate.

'_I'm_ _getting away from you for a while…'_

"Where?! Are you coming home for the meeting or not?!" she shouted from the front steps.

Punching in the security code for the front gate to open, he didn't respond. There was no reason to respond anyway since Rinoa had already slammed their front door hard enough for it to echo in the courtyard. The gate slid open slowly and Squall squeezed through once it was open enough for him to do so. The cold autumn air had stung his warm face when he had walked out of the house, but he was pleased that it was starting to pull the lethargy away from his mindset. He took out a black beanie from his jacket pocket and put it on snugly as he walked towards the Deling City Center.

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End of chapter one! Please submit a review! I would absolutely LOVE to hear from anyone for CC since this is my first fic, and all... I have chapter 2 ready and waiting, just a few more editing things i need to do before i submit it. Also.. kills some of the italics, and i have tried numerous times to fix em, but it just wont work.. so yeah... I love you all! thanks so much for reading!

Chapter 2 will be up soon! 


	2. Everlasting Annoyances

**- L o s t . a n d . F o u n d-**

  


**Chapter 2 – Everlasting Annoyances**

Deling's inner city sights were more than busy during the cold evening. Everyone was out and about, shopping and hanging around the city square. The streetlights had abruptly turned on as 6PM struck on every person's watch. The days had seemed shorter since the sun was going down earlier and earlier each day. Sundown on this particular day was 5:30, the same time Squall had left his mansion, and started to casually walk to the city shopping center as if he were any other normal guy who was bored.

As he was walking, a Galbadian News van had sped past him. Without even noticing it himself, he had hunched his shoulders up and kept his head down so he could not be noticed. He had done this so many times, it was routine for him to do so if he had seen any source of aggravation such as press or journalists heading his way. Walking in this position for quite some time, he had finally reached the city center, which was very alive with bright lights and sound. The Deling bus system was getting an exceptional amount of passengers as each bus was filled to its limit.

Finally getting out of his hunched position, his first interest had caught his eye. He peered into one of the store windows in awe.

Staring at the numerous weapons, he looked at a newer version of Shear Trigger displayed at the farthest end of the window. His eyes lit up for a brief moment as he remembered when he had his beloved gunblade re-constructed into a Shear Trigger, although it was the older version that he had remembered.

'_Now Lionheart sits on a damn display….'_

With that thought in mind, he quickly became irritated and turned away from the weapons shop to continue walking by numerous stores which all sold their share of goods. The potion shop was eerily packed with people, as was the trading post. Everything was so lively; it had made him sick to his stomach. Pulling his jacket around himself, he stopped for a moment to take it all in. He hadn't been in the city for so long, he wondered where the time had gone.

'So many people doing their own little things… everyone having purpose…but what am I here to do…? Nothing.'

He then had spotted a woman and her daughter sitting on a bus bench. The woman was reading Deling's Local newspaper, as the girl was playing with a doll that looked shockingly like Selphie Tilmitt, one of his former friends who had moved back to the Trabia region to help out her garden rebuild and manage itself once again.

'_Come to think of it, I hadn't spoken to her in…'_

His thought had ceased as he caught a glimpse of the front of the woman's newspaper. It had read:

**COMMANDER LEONHART AND EXECUTIVE HEARTILLY ARE TO BE WED EARILIER THAN EXPECTED!!**

'…the hell?'

Turning around to find a nearby newspaper stand, Squall had quickly paced to one near the potions shop. Pulling out 2 Gil for a newspaper, he slid the bills into the machine; it clicked and opened for him.

Taking a copy out, he stared at the front headline for a moment. He then skimmed the article as it talked about the night before, and how Rinoa had announced at the party that their wedding was to be three weeks before the planned date. With anger starting to slowly build up inside, he thumbed through the newspaper to find the page that continued the story.

'_What the hell was she thinking? She didn't even talk to me about this, she didn't ask me she didn't-'_

Again his thought was cut off, but this time it was by someone who had passed him so quickly, and forcefully for that matter, that they had bumped into him hard enough for him to drop his newspaper on the sidewalk and lose his balance. Stumbling backward, he refrained from totally falling over, trying not to make a fool of his somewhat 'disguised from the public', self.

'Hyne, what now?' 

"Hey that wasn't very…" without finishing his sentence, he stared at the figure, which was very far ahead of where he stood. Staring in that direction for a moment, he then bent over to pick up the newspaper, and as he had stood up again, another person had bumped into him. This time, he didn't hesitate speaking. "Hey, would you watch it? You almost knocked…"

'………_..crap…..'_

He was staring into the face of one of the reporters who he had spoken to the night before. She turned briefly around and hurriedly said sorry to Squall, who she had apparently not recognized. She was more occupied trying to get her two man camera crew to follow her. "C'mon you guys, he is up ahead! Let's move it!"

Squall watched as she led the way towards whoever had bumped into him before.

' _That was close.'_

He was relieved that he had not been recognized as he folded his newspaper underneath his arm. Curious, he wondered if the first person that had bumped into him was running away from the reporter.

'Most likely. Good luck man …' 

The woman and the child were gone from their places at the bus stop. He figured the bus had picked them up at the slight moment in time when he had kept being pushed around. Tossing his newspaper on top of the machine, he took in a deep breath of cold air, and continued walking down the sidewalk towards the Galbadia Hotel. His father had told him about this place a year ago, when he actually got himself to visit Esthar for the first time in a while. Surprisingly enough, he also found out that Laguna had met his first love in that hotel.

'Her name was…Julia…. Julia…Hyne, my mother-in-law to be.'

He winced at the thought of marrying Rinoa, and saw the bright hotel across the next block. Laguna had told him much about Julia and when they had first met. Squall remembered asking him so many questions, because he was so confused with everything. He never had called him father though, because he just couldn't think of Laguna as a father when he had grown up the biggest portion of his life without him.

'Julia played piano in the bar underneath the hotel. Laguna had told me that he would always go and listen to her, and one day she invited him to her room in the hotel…'

Stopping for a moment, he ceased thinking about Laguna and the past. He had dreamt it anyway…

'Right?' 

He opened the door and walked inside slowly. His pace got even slower when he had spotted the reporter woman at the front desk demanding a bellhop for someone's room number. She had also attracted another local reporter who was on the morning news. There had been a crowd of people gathering around to see what the commotion was about.

'_Lock your door pal,_ _they never seem to give up…'_

He slid past the small crowd of people to the right and trailed downstairs to the bar. There was a man playing on the on-stage piano, and there were many people sitting at tables, talking, eating, and drinking to their heart's content. Squall took a seat at the bar and watched the scene of occupants, disinterested.

The bartender watched Squall for a moment, then approached him as professionally as she could. "Would you like something to drink sir?"

Dazedly, Squall turned to look at the young woman behind the counter. She had short, light brown hair, with very innocent hazel eyes that were staring happily into his cold grey ones. He took a moment to respond, "No thank you."

Taking a glass from behind the counter, she placed it in front of him. "Are you sure? Not even some water? I can pour you a glass of water…

'_No thank you… no thank you…Hey everybody! It's Squall the broken record again.'_

Squall refused once more, and she had finally lost enough interest in him to attend others sitting at the bar. Squall looked back at the piano, watching the man play a very mellow song that made him feel miserable.

'_Why did I come here? Was I looking to start having an infatuation with a beautiful talented woman that played the piano in a bar?' _

Quietly laughing at his own thought, he listened to the melody in the room. It had immersed his mind into thought.

'_Hyne, what should I do? Should I go on with all of this? I don't even feel like going back home… at least not tonight.'_

The group of reporters had come downstairs, defeated. The cameramen placed their equipment on a table nearby, and the reporters sat at the bar and started talking to each other. Squall leaned back against the counter and stared off into space as he listened to the piano's enticing tune.

'I'll only be gone for one night. What harm would that do? Rinoa probably wants some time to herself too……whatever… I think maybe all of this was a mistake.."

The second reporter who was accompanying the woman looked over in Squall's direction without him noticing. He tapped Squall on the shoulder casually. Caught dumbstruck, Squall looked at the man with wide eyes, "Y-yes?"

"So, what do you think about all of this?" he asked rather seriously.

'About…'

"…what?"

The reporter turned to look at the pianist, as Squall had been a few minutes ago, and asked again. "What do you think about this entire issue with Garden? Do you think it will go through?"

'Issue? What issue?'

"What do you mean…? You kind of caught me off guard."

"You don't read the newspapers kid? Do you watch the news on television? I'm talking about how Galbadia, Trabia and Balamb's Gardens are uniting." The man then crossed his arms and frowned pensively to himself. He looked almost as confused as Squall was.

'Uniting??'

"Hn. I don't watch the news that often, I had no idea. Where did you find this out?" Squall asked, trying to sound more nonchalant than he was feeling.

"Oh yeah, well… it's a rumor as of right now, but some sources say that Commanders Almasy, Tilmitt, and Leonhart are conspiring for this idea to work. I don't know if it will pull through though.

"Ah…I don't think it will. I haven't heard anything about them deciding such a rash decision as that," Squall started.

'_Did he say Commander Tilmitt? More importantly… did he actually say Commander Almasy?!'_

He continued, as the man was interested in what he was saying, "It probably won't happen. There would be too many reasons not to do so; also, there would probably be a power struggle between the commanders. Right?"

The man nodded thoughtfully. "Hey kid, could I put your opinion in the morning news? Its interesting to hear what the public thinks about what is going on now a days… jacks up the ratings too because it makes everyone feel like we care a whole bunch about their opinions.."

'_Typical…'_

Standing from his place at the bar, Squall pulled his beanie tighter over his head and zipped his jacket. "Suit yourself. But just quote me as anonymous… I don't like attention from reporters."

"Sure thing kid, thanks."

Squall hurried up the stairs to the main hall. He wanted to escape any chance of being questioned. Furthermore, he wanted to rent a room at the hotel so he didn't have to go back home to sulk.

Stepping up to the desk, one of the bellhop's gave him an uninviting look. The woman sitting the desk quickly said, "We don't give out room numbers sir, other than that, how can I help you?"

"I don't need a room number, I need a room."

"Your name please?" She politely asked as she started typing on the computer in front of her.

"Loire… Laguna Loire."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she started typing again. "And how long will you be staying with us….Mr. Loire?"

"Just for tonight."

Handing him a room key, she told the bellhop to help him to his room. Up two flights of stairs, he was shown to one of the smaller rooms in the hotel. "Here you are…" he said, opening the room and quickly walking away. Squall stepped in and the first thing that caught his eye was the bed. Trudging over to it, he plopped down across the side and once again, stared at the ceiling.

'_What am I doing….?'_

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**Author's Note**: Im so glad that some of you are reading this! Feels special Im hoping that is alright to read. Remember that if you find any mistakes or what not, PLEASE tell me so I can fix it/them. I'll be finished with chapter three soon too. Oh, and for a note about this chapter which you have just read… I was listening to this beautiful piano song by Malice Mizer called "Regret". Uberly wonderful and kinda sad. So if you wanna hear the song which Squall was listening to at the hotel… just ask…

_To my readers who reviewed Chapter 1…_

ljyentbellsouth: Thanks so much for reading! Im glad this is enjoyable for you to read.

Angry Angel: HI! hugs hehe. Yes.. im writing this fic. I was somewhat inspired by you, and my friend lolo urged me to try writing out one myself. I am scared it's gonna get cheesy though… … . eh… im trying my best to keep people in character. I'm so glad you like it so far!!!!

Hikari Heijin: Aww thanks so much, you're so nice!! Im so glad you like it so far!

Lolo: Duh, you know I love you because I mooch your brilliant ideas. (and for those of you that don't know, lolo is helping me a lot with coming up with the plot ) but yes. Feel the lurve.

QueenJennifer: Thank You! Hehehe… its gonna get better if I figure out how to write it. Me and lolo have plans… evil grin

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